Jake Buehler

Jake Buehler is a freelance science writer, covering natural history, wildlife conservation and Earth's splendid biodiversity, from salamanders to sequoias. He has a master's degree in zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

All Stories by Jake Buehler

  1. Two heavily armored dinosaurs swing long tail clubs at one another, crossing against the sunset on a strangely barren landscape
    Paleontology

    Armored dinos may have used their tail clubs to bludgeon each other

    Broken and healed spikes on Zuul's flanks are consistent with the armored beast receiving a mighty blow from the tail club of another ankylosaur.

  2. three gray wolves standing in the snow
    Life

    A parasite makes wolves more likely to become pack leaders

    In Yellowstone National Park, gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions, making them more likely to split off from the pack.

  3. A close up photo of a squirrel glider sitting on a tree branch and looking at the camera
    Animals

    Long considered loners, many marsupials may have complex social lives

    Some marsupials may be more sociable than previously thought, opening the door to a possible deep legacy of social organization systems in mammals

  4. Fishers pull in a large Atlantic bluefin tuna from choppy seas
    Oceans

    Sharks face rising odds of extinction even as other big fish populations recover

    Over the last 70 years, large ocean fishes like tuna and marlin have been recovering from overfishing. But sharks continue to decline toward extinction.

  5. A close up photo of a mosquito drawing blood from a human
    Health & Medicine

    A major malaria outbreak in Ethiopia came from an invasive Asian mosquito

    Malaria may become a much bigger problem in Africa’s cities if the invasive mosquito continues to spread.

  6. Illustration of Dakota, a 12-meter-long duck-billed dinosaur and the fossilized scaly skin from its foot.
    Paleontology

    Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be rare flukes after all

    Bite marks on a fossilized dinosaur upend the idea that exquisite skin preservation must result from a carcass's immediate smothering under sediment.

  7. A brimstone moth caterpillar, extremely effectively camouflaged as a twig
    Life

    Not all camouflage is equal. Here are prey animals’ best options

    When prey masquerade as innocuous objects in the environment, they slow detection from predators by nearly 300 percent.

  8. illustration of 'demon ducks' eating in a grassland. The ducks are huge with red and black beaks
    Life

    Ancient ‘demon ducks’ may have been undone by their slow growth

    Mihirung birds grew to more than half a ton and took their time getting there. That slow growth may have been a vulnerability when humans got to Australia.

  9. A red lionfish with fins spread wide next to bright red coral
    Animals

    How slow and steady lionfish win the race against fast prey

    Lionfish overcome speedy prey with persistent pursuit, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Other slow predatory fish may use the technique too.

  10. A small crustacean, Idotea balthica, that looks like a small clawless lobster, climbs along a stalk of red algae
    Life

    Like bees of the sea, crustaceans ‘pollinate’ seaweed

    Crustaceans shuttle around red algae’s sex cells, helping the seaweed reproduce in a manner remarkably similar to flower pollination.

  11. yellow underwing moth on a red clover flower at night
    Life

    Moths pollinate clover flowers at night, after bees have gone home

    Camera footage reveals that moths make roughly a third of the visits to red clover, highlighting the overlooked role of nighttime pollinators.

  12. yellow and black sail swallowtail butterfly on a pink flower
    Animals

    Butterflies may lose their ‘tails’ like lizards

    Fragile, tail-like projections on some butterflies' wings may be a lifesaver.